This lecture will consider the fact that we now live in the end of the
Gentile Age.

But before we get into this, we would like to remind everyone that the
purpose of Bible prophesy is not to be able to predict the future, and the exact
date when Christ will return. Life is so very fragile that any one of us could
die tonight, and then for us, the return of Christ is in the morning at our
awakening. So the purpose of Bible prophesy is not some magical formula we can
use to wait for awhile, before we get serious about serving God.

No, the purpose of Bible prophesy is that we might see that the hand of God
is active, still working in the earth, bringing about His ultimate purpose of
the earth ruled in peace by His son, Jesus Christ. A time when the earth will
reflect Isaiahís prophesy in that ninth chapter, so often repeated but so poorly
understood:

Isa. 9:6-7

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon
the throne of David, [and that throne was in Israel] and upon his kingdom, to
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth
even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

And in seeing the work performed by the zeal of the Lord of Hosts come to
pass, in seeing the prophesies of the Bible clearly taking place before our very
eyes, our faith will be strengthened to hold on to the Truth and remain obedient
to the truth in these ages of Gentile darkness.

In the prophesies of the Bible that we shall look at this evening, we will
see this. We will see that Godís hand is, and has been, at work over the ages,
slowly and carefully realizing His plan. Yes, in every age, and especially in
our age, there have been scoffers. Peter records their speech nearly 2000 years
ago, we he wrote words of encouragement to the faithful. Peter wrote:

2Peter 3:3-9

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise
of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing
out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being
overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now,
by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men
count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance."

These men, these scoffers exist today in many forms. Some are not religious
men at all, but simply mock the idea that God is still working. Some claim to be
religious men, but claim that all Bible prophesy has already been fulfilled, and
there is nothing yet to be accomplished. But both classes have the same things
in common. They are, as Peter said, "willingly ignorant." They are willing to
ignore the facts of the case, and chose instead to follow what the Scriptures
calls "cunningly devised fables."

We will look very closely at Bible prophesy to see that the things prophesied
by God have comes true, and are continuing to come true before our very eyes,
that we should not be willingly ignorant, but rather, believe. We will look at
the accuracy of the Bible to see the truth of the words of Daniel 2:

Dan 2:20-22

"Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for
ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the
seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the
wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and
secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with
him."

And we will see that the things prophesied by God are truly still unfolding
right before our eyes, if we will only look. There are many things, many
distraceions in the world around us that tend to blind us. But we can, if we
will, look though those things, anointing our eyes with eye salve of the
Scriptures, as it were, that we can clearly see the hand of God.

* * * * *

Jesus, in his last week of life, three days before he was crucified, sitting
on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city of Israel, spoke a prophesy about
the Jews and Jerusalem, and it is often referred to as the Mount Olivet
prophesy. The prophesy spoke of many things which would befall the Jews in 70 AD
when Rome would destroy the Temple, murder thousands of Jews, and exile the rest
out of the land. But of particular interest to us this evening about this
prophesy is this last part of this prophesy. Jesus told them:

Luke 21:20-24

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies,
[which were of course the Roman armies] then know that the desolation thereof
is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them
which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the
countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things
which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and
to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in
the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the
sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be
trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Note the way Jesus closed that prophesy. Jerusalem shall be trodden down of
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Well, what have we
seen over the past 2000 years? We saw Rome come exactly as Jesus prophesied.
Luke records that as Jesus left the Temple this happened:

Luke 21:5-6

And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with
goodly stones and gifts, he said, "As for these things which ye behold, the
days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down."

This happened. All the stones of the Temple came down. All that is left now,
is an outer wall that ringed the Temple, not part of the Temple, on the western
side of the city. You know, the Roman General Titus, led the final destruction
of Jerusalem. And Titus desired to save parts of the Temple from destruction, as
a testimony to his own military skill in overseeing the destroying such a strong
fortress. He commanded his soldiers not destroy the Towers, a specific command
which they disobeyed. During the battle, and seeing that the Roman soldiers
start to destroy potions of the Temple he wished to save, Titus sent Roman
soldiers to kill Roman soldiers to stop the destruction. It all failed. The
Temple was completely destroyed, exactly as Jesus had prophesied.

The Jews were deported, and driven all across the face of the earth. Certain
emperors even made laws like the Roman leader Justinian, that Jews were
prohibited from living in Israel. And yet, 2000 years later, what do we see?
We see today, Israel, a nation, a powerful nation, standing in the exact area
that so many nations, in the past, and even in the present, were determined that
she should not stand.

Jesus said that Jerusalem would be trodden down of the Gentiles, but not for
ever. Only till the end of Gentile times. It was the same theme that he had
expressed to them before, as he surveyed the city of Jerusalem. Knowing what
should occur, Jesus lamented in Luke 13:

Luke 13:34-35

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and
stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy
children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye
would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto
you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he
that cometh in the name of the Lord."

Note that he doesn't say your house is left desolate forever, but for a time.
A time we learn, that was to be called the times of the Gentiles. But at the end
of the times of the Gentiles, they were to be regathered on the Mountains of
Israel and then they were to stand up a mighty nation.

The prophets before Jesus had said these same things. Jeremiah had made this
promise the first time the temple was destroyed under Nebuchadnezzar the
Babylonian, when Babylon had invaded Israel. From the earliest times Israel had
this reassurance:

Jer. 46:28

Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am
with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven
thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet
will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Israel was to be driven away because of their disobedience, and their
disobedience had been great. When Jeremiah had warned them to cease from their
idolatry and worship God, the Jews told Jeremiah:

Jer 44:17-19

But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out
of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out
drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and
our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then
had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left
off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings
unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and
by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured
out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour
out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

That is how complete Israelís rebellion had been. And yet God promised
Israel, that yes, they would be taken captive. Yes, they would be scattered
across the face of the earth. Yes, they would be punished for their
disobedience. But also, yes, though he might destroy all the nations Israel was
scattered to, He would not destroy the Jews, but rather, He would correct them,
and ultimately return them to Israel. They would be desolate, scattered, until
the Times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled.

As preparation for our lecture tonight we read a few verses from Ezekiel 37,
so we wonít read them again. They are in your notes for reference. In that
section, we saw that Israel was seen as a nation that was hopeless. A valley of
dried bones. But slowly, bone came to bone, then they were covered with sinew
and flesh, and then ultimately, they stood up a mighty nation. Has this prophesy
come true?

But lets look, briefly at the development of the nation of Israel, for the
nation of Israel is the greatest witness in the world today, that God is still
working out His plan in the earth, and the fact that we are living in the end of
Gentile times.

As the 19th century drew to a close, Israel had no homeland. The first
Zionist conference was held in 1898. The stated goal of the conference was to
get a homeland for Israel. They didn't really seem to be too specific about
where the homeland was to be. Different locations around the globe were
suggested, including locations in south eastern Africa.

But this was not to be. But the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
David was the land of Israel. And therefore the only place for Israel to be
rebuilt was in Israel. But how was this to be done? One of the greatest empires
of the World, the Turkish empire, with its Moslem people controlled Israel and
had done so for over a thousand years.

(We see Turkey today, a weak insignificant nation. But only 80 years
ago, she was one of the four great powers of the earth--a testimony to how
quickly God changes the nations.)

But, following the Zionist congress, a major event in the history of the
world, and Israel, was about to occur. We saw a few minutes ago, that Jeremiah
had recorded just how thoroughly Israel had rejected God, how they preferred the
"Queen of Heaven" to God. In the Mosaic law, that God had promised Israel
that, if she was disobedient, she would be punished 7 times for her sins. God
had told Israel:

LEV 26:15-18

And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor
my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my
covenant: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror,
consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause
sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall
eat it. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your
enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none
pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will
punish you seven times more for your sins.

What is a time? We see this expression all through the Scriptures. We have
been talking about it tonight--"till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
Daniel said God changed times and seasons, indicating that a time is a year. And
it was. A time was considered to be the full circle of the earth around the sun,
which the Jews had divided into 12 months of 30 days, totaling 360 days. This is
actually where the 360 degrees to a circle comes from, that we all learned in
our math classes in school. So a time was a period of 360 days.

In the Mosaic law, as we have seen, God told Israel that they would be
punished seven times for their sins. How long a period was that to be. Well, 7
times 360 is 2,520. Does that match any historic time? Well, the nation that
Jeremiah prophesied that would conquer Jerusalem was Babylon, and Babylon,
according to modern archeologists, conquered Babylon in the winter of 604 or 603
BC. If we were to read the Encyclopedia Britannica about this date, we would see
they use the date BC 604. This date has been changed many times over the last 20
years, and it will soon be changed again to BC 603. Several Archeological
magazines such as Archeology Today, and Biblical Archeology already use the BC
603 date.

If we add 2520 years to 603 BC what do we get? We get the winter of 1917, the
time in world war one when Israel was removed from the Turkish power, and the
power of hostile foreign interests for the first time in 2,520 years.

It was November on 1917, Britain under the leadership of Field Marshal
Allenby defeated the Turks in Gaza, and on December 9,1917 Allenby marched into
Jerusalem, freeing the city from the control of the Turks, exactly 2,520 years
from the invasion of Babylon. The Encyclopedia Britannica records this of
Allenby:

Encyclopedia Britannica

"Allenby's service in the Middle East proved
more distinguished. In June 1917 he took command of the Egyptian Expeditionary
Force. The strength of his personality created a new spirit in his army, and
after careful preparation and reorganization he won a decisive victory over
the Turks at Gaza (November 1917), which led to the capture of Jerusalem (Dec.
9, 1917). Further advances were checked by calls from France for his troops,
but after receiving reinforcements he won a decisive victory at Megiddo (Sept.
19, 1918), which, followed by his capture of Damascus and Aleppo, ended
Ottoman power in Syria."

So, in 1917, the seven times had been completed on Israel, and for the first
time in 2520 years, Israel was not longer controlled by a hostile northern power.

Then, also, at the same time, in World War I, a chemist name Chaim Weisman developed a formula
for synthetic acetone, a necessary ingredient for certain war weapons. As a
reward, the British government asked him what he wanted, and he declared, a home
land for my people, the Jews. This request was granted in 1917 in the form of
the Balfour declaration. Britain pledged support to the Zionist goal of a
homeland for Israel. In 1922, the League of Nations (the forerunner of the
United Nations) gave Britain the official mandate over Palestine, which of
course eventually was renamed Israel.

Now, while all this was going on, there was very little immigration to Israel
by the Jews. Immigration was open to all who wished to go, but none of the Jews wanted to
go. For various reasons, political, religious, and economic reasons: the Jews
did not readily leave the comforts of life in Europe and the US to go to Israel.

Then came the late 1930s and the growth of anti-Semitism in Europe. The
outbreak of persecution increased the number of Jews immigrating to Israel, but this upset
the Arabs who were already in Palestine, though living under the British
mandate. Support of the Jews agtainst Nazi Germany was guaranteed.
But to gain Arab support, Britain then limited immigration to 176,000 per year.

By the end of World War II, through the Nazi persecutions, the Jews had been
forced to realize the importance of establishing the Jewish state. The United
Nations, with the support of the United States and Russia issued its mandate in
November 1947 declaring Israel a sovereign state. The British abandoned their
mandate on May 13, 1948 and Israel declared itself a state on May 14, 1948.

Dry bone had joined to dry bone. At the time Israel declared her independence, there were only an estimated
650,000 Jews in Israel. She fought a war in 1948 against the Arabs, outnumbered
over 100 to 1 and surrounded on three sides by enemies; yet in spite of
overwhelming odds, she was victorious. In one day, she had stood up a mighty
nation as the prophesy of Ezekiel had foretold.

Her continued existence has not been easy. In 1956, she again fought a war, this time against Egypt heavily backed by
the former Soviet Union and was again victorious. After both the 1948 war and
the 1956 war, Israel returned to her original boundaries as established by the
United Nations. But after 1956, Israel entered into a period of unprecedented
economic growth, and that spurred immigration taking the population numbers up
to over 3 million people by the time the next war, the 6 day war of 1967 occurred.

Following the 1967 war, Israel refused to give up the territory she had won,
until her Arab neighbors would agree to sign peace treaties. In 1973, during Yom
Kippur or the Jewish New Year, the Jews were attacked again by the Arabs, but
again had no trouble fending them off.

In 1980 Jerusalem was declared the capital city of Israel, to the chagrin of all
the nations. (It had formerly been Tel Aviv.) This was thought to be a stumbling
block to lasting peace, because Jerusalem had been a divided city by the United
Nations mandate. The Jews had taken all of Jerusalem in 1967, and now were
officially refusing to give it back. It is notable that the loudest voice in
this country against establishing Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel came
from the American Council of Churches. Christianity, not understanding the role
of Israel in God's plan simply cannot see God's hand at work in bringing Israel
back into existence, as prophesied in Eze. 37.

But, as we have seen, dry bone came together with dry bone. We can see that this
is just how it happened. Events, seemly irrelevant, became the substance of
international debate until Israel was again established as a nation. And when
she stood up on that fateful day in May 1948, she stood up a nation mighty
enough to take on 14 other nations who outnumbered her over over 100 to 1, and
she defeated her enemy. Though she still did not know and still does not know
that it was God who fought for her.

Now when, in the end of the Gentile Times, Israel was to stand up a mighty
nation, the next chapter of Ezekiel describes a mighty power that would invade
her, bringing the return of Christ. This power is said to be a Northen power in
Eze 38:

EZE 38:1-3

And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man,
set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and
Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I
am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:

And the other nations listed with the Northern King are:

EZE 38: 5-6

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with
shield and helmet: Gomer, and all his bands; the house of Togarmah of the
north quarters, and all his bands: and many people with thee.

Europe, we are told by the ancient historian Herodutus, was settled by two
families who spread out down the Danube river, the river that cuts east to west
across Europe. The families of Magog settled north of the Danube, and became the
German people, while Gomer, mentioned in verse 6 became the French peoples. The
words translated "Chief Prince in verse 2 should have been left untranslated,
and is the Hebrew word Rosh, the ancient name of Russia. Meschec is Muscovy.
Tubal is Tubolski. These are the ancient names of the three principle regions of
modern Russia, The Kiev, Beolerus, and Siberia.

Persia is the ancient name of modern Iran, and Togarmah is the ancient name
of modern Turkey.

This is the confederation that comes up upon the mountains of Israel. Daniel
tells us of this advance by this Northern Confederation:

DAN 11:40-43

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south
push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a
whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall
enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter
also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these
shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the
children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries:
and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the
treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt:
and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

So the trodding down of Israel is not yet over. Israel, through her unbelief
will still suffer more for refusing to recognize her Messiah. Russia, this
Northern King, shall overflow Israel with their US and British protectors of Israel like a whirl
wind. So complete will be the destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of this
northern invader that the prophet Zechariah wrote:

ZEC 14:1-2

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be
divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem
to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women
ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue
of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

When that happens, the prophet tells us:

ZEC 14:3-5

Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those
nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in
that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and
the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and
toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the
mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And
ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains
shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the
earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall
come, and all the saints with thee.

And again writing of this great battle to prophet Joel writes:

JOE 3:9-16

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up
the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your
plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I
am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather
yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O
LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat:
for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the
sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full,
the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in
the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of
decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw
their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from
Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the
hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

It is Jesus Christ, fighting for the Great God Almighty who accomplishes the
victory, and restores again the Kingdom unto Israel, to the confusion of the
world.

It was concerning Israel that God said:

Deut. 32:8-10

When the Most High divided to the nations their
inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the
people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S
portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a
desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he
instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

Israel is the Apple of God's eye. His chosen people. Not, because of the
wicked men who have brought God's punishments upon Israel, but because of the
righteous men, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David to whom God made the promises.
By watching the nation of Israel, we can see that God is now, and ever has been
working out His plan for mankind.

* * * * *

You know, a few years ago, it was pretty easy to imagine Russia, a great
world power descending on Israel in a world wide battle for control of the
worldís economic system. 15 years ago, Russia was a great impending power,
anxious to bring every nation under Communist control, thereby destroying her
great enemy, capitalism. Under then President Ronald Reagan, the United States
engaged Russia in a spending frenzy that resulted in the collapse of Russia.
Now, terribly disoriented and woefully in debt, we often hear derision from the
Bibleís critics saying that Bible prophesy is wrong, and that Russia will never be able to rise again.

So we thought we might take a few minutes and look at another point in
history, when another King of the North fought the king of the South for control
of the Middle east. This was a period called the Classic Greek wars, and it
started around 250 BC,
after the death of Alexander the Great and before the rise of the Roman empire.
The events are found in the 11th chapter of Daniel. The first part which
concerns us this evening is:

Dan. 11:3-4

"And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with
great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his
kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven;
and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for
his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those."

This mighty king who stood up against the king of Persia was of course,
Alexander the Great, who defeated Xerxes, king of Persia, and established the
Greek empire. And when Alexander stood up or became the world emperor, he died
in a drunken stupor in the city of Babylon. His kingdom then, the prophet says,
was to go to the four winds of heaven. Well, what do historians say about the
division of the empire after Alexanderís death. This is from Rollinís World
History:

Rollin II:47

"The empire of Alexander was thus divided into four
kingdoms. Ptolemy had Egypt, Lybia, Arabia, Coele-Syria, and Palestine:
Cassander had Macedonian and Greece: Lysmachus, Thrace, Bithynia, and some
other provinces beyond the Hellespont, and the Bosphorus, and Seleucus all the
rest of Asia, to the other side of the Euphrates and as far as the river
Indus."

These men had all been generalís under Alexander. They carved up the empire
for themselves and ruled it. Then the fifth verse reads:

Dan. 11:5

And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his
princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion
shall be a great dominion.

The southern king was the strongest king, one of Alexanderís princes or
generals, and he would have a great dominion. Of Ptolemy, the southern king
Rollin says:

Rollin II:55

"Towards the close of this year died Ptolemy Soter, king
of Egypt, in the eighty- fourth year of his age, and two years after
resignation of his empire to his son. He was the most able, and worthy man of
all his race, and left behind him such examples of prudence, justice, and
clemency, as very few of his successors were industrious to imitate. During
the space of near forty years, in which he governed Egypt after the death of
Alexander, he raised it to such a height of grandeur and power, as rendered it
superior to the other kingdoms."

So the Southern King was the most powerful king, and had made himself
superior to all the other kingdoms, just as Daniel said. And while the Southern
king was growing stronger and stronger, the king of the North whose name was
Antiochus Theos was so beaten down by internal problems that
the northern king finally sought to end any hostility between himself and the Ptolemies by making an "agreement." Daniel says of this:

Dan. 11:6

And in the end of years they (the king of the north and
south) shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south
shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement:

Our historian Rollin records this:

Rollin II:77

"The troubles and revolts in the East made Antiochus at
last desirous to disengage himself from the war with Ptolemy. A treaty of
peace was accordingly concluded between them; and the conditions of it were,
that Antiochus should divorce Laodice, and espouse Berenice, the daughter of
Ptolemy; that he should also disinherit his issue by the first marriage, and
secure the crown to his children by the second."

This marriage between Berenice from the Southern kingdom and Antiochus Theos
from the northern kingdom was supposed to be a peace treaty to end the struggles
between north and south. The south was vastly superior. The north was weak and
splintered. The north sued for peace, but peace didnít happen. The agreement
would not last. Daniel concludes verse 6 this way:

Dan. 11:6

: "but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither
shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought
her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times."

Well, what happened. We will let Rollin tell us:

Rollin II:80

"As soon as Antiochus Theos had received intelligence of
the death of Ptolemy Philadelphus, his father-in-law, he divorced Berenice,
and recalled Laodice and her children. Laodice, who knew the variable
disposition and inconstancy of Antiochus, and was apprehensive that the same
levity of mind would induce him to return to Berenice again, resolved to
improve the present opportunity to secure the crown for her son...Laodice,
therefore, caused Antiochus to be poisoned, and when she saw that he was dead,
she placed in his bed a person named Aremon, who very much resembled him both
in his features and in the tone of his voice, to act the part she had occasion
for. ...In his name were issued orders, by which his eldest son Seleucus
Callinicus was appointed his successor. His death was then declared, upon
which Seleucus peaceably ascended the throne, and enjoyed it for the space of
twenty years....

"Laodice, not believing herself safe as long as Berenice and her son lived,
concerted measures with Seleucus to destroy them also: but Berenice being
informed of their design, escaped with her son to Daphne, where she shut
herself up in the asylum built by Seleucus Nicator. But being at last betrayed
by the perfidy of those who besieged her there by the order of Laodice, first
her son and then herself, with all the Egyptians who had accompanied her to
that retreat, were murdered in the blackest and most inhuman manner."

So the peace agreement came to an end. Laodice poisoned her husband and set
her son on the throne. Well, what did the Ptolemies then do? Daniel writes:

Dan. 11:7-9

"But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his
estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of
the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: And
shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with
their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years
than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his
kingdom, and shall return into his own land."

A branch of Berniceís roots, her brother, Ptolemy Eueregetes, sweeps down
upon the Northern King destroying him, his kingdom and taking much silver and
gold with him. His victory over the northern king is swift and sure. Here is how
our historian records it:

Rollin II:80

"Her [Berenice's] brother, Ptolemy Euergetes was also as
expeditious as possible to advance thither with a formidable army; but the
unhappy Berenice and her children were dead before any of these auxiliary
troops could arrive. When they therefore saw that all their endeavours to save
the queen and her chilren were rendered ineffectual, they immediately
determined to revenge her death in a remarkable manner. The troops of Asia
joined those of Egypt, and Ptolemy, who commanded them, was as successful as
he could desire in the satisfaction of his just resentment. .."This prince
carried off 40,000 talents of silver with a prodigious quantity of gold and
silver vessels and 2,500 statues, part of which were those Egyptian idols that
Cambyses, after his conquest of that kingdom, had sent into Persia."

The king of the South destroyed the weaker Northern King and plundered them.
What does Daniel say happened next. It is another battle. The Northern Kingís
sons again rises up, and the southern king again defeats him. Daniel records it
this way:

Dan. 11:10-12

But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a
multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and
pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and
fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a
great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. And when he
hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast
down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it."

Our histornian also records this:

Rollin: II:108

"The campaign was again opened in spring (BC 217).
Ptolemy caused 70,000 foot, 5000 horse, and 73 elephants, to advance towards
Pelusium....That of Antiochus was something more numerous than the other. His
forces consisted of 72,000 foot, 6000 horse, and 102 elephants."

"At last the two kings resolving to decide their quarrel, drew up their
armies in battle-array...Finding it would now be impossible for him to
maintain himself in that country against Ptolemy, he abandoned all his
conquests, and retreated to Antioch with the remains of his army."

ĎA truce was therefore agreed upon for twelve months; and before the
expiration of that time, a peace was concluded on these terms. Ptolemy, who
might have taken advantage of the victory, and have conquered all Syria, was
desirous of putting an end to the war, that he might have an opportunity of
devoting himself entirely to his pleasures."

So here we have two battles, the king of the South, superior in every way was
victorious in both. But war is expensive. Especially foreign war. It weakens a nations treasury. It
weakens a nationís resolve. And wars fought on foreign soil can become unpopular
so very quickly. And that is exactly what the Ptolemy family found.

For the next time Daniel sees the king of the North coming, the end result is
completely different. Daniel prophesies:

Dan. 11:13-16

"For the king of the north shall return, and shall set
forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after
certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there
shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy
people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. So
the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most
fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his
chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. But he that
cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand
before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall
be consumed.

As it is sometimes said, the third time is the charm. In the comfort and
wealth and splendor of itís power, the King of the South could not forsee the
rise of a mighty general in the north, whom history has named Antiochus the
Great. But he did rise up, as God prophesied that he would. Antiochus the great
conquered all his former lands, and took the battle to Egypt, and would have
conquered them, except that a new a burgeoning world power came on the scene to
prevent them.

How silly must Danielís prophesy had seemed to the Ptolemies in Egypt. They
were far richer than their northern enemy. They were far more powerful than
their northern enemy. The rest of the then world loved the Ptolemies, and
despised the Antiochuses. Their country was peaceful within, while the northern
kings country was in revolt, and total chaos and turmoil. And Ptolemy had
already twice decisively defeated and destroyed his northern counterpart. Surely
nothing could happen to change that. Surely Danielís words were mere fairy
tales. The Northern King overflowing Egypt? Why that could never happen.

But history records it did happen. And it happened precisely as Daniel said
it would. Rollin tells us:

Rollin II: 134

"Antiochus King of Syria, and Philip king of Macedonia,
during the reign of Ptolemy Philopater (203 BC) had discovered the strongest
zeal for the interest of that monarch, and were ready to assist him on all
occasions. Yet, no sooner was he dead, leaving behind an infant, whom the law
of humanity and justice enjoined them not to disturb in the possession of his
fatherís kingdom, than they immediately join in a criminal alliance, and
excite each other to take off the lawful heir, and divide his dominions
between them. Philip was to have Caria, Lybia, Cyrenaica, and Egypt; and
Antiochus all the rest. With this view, the latter entered Coele-syria and
Palestine; and, in less than two campaigns, made an entire conquest of those
two provinces, with all their cities and dependencies."

Such was the beginning of the end of the glorious kingdom of the South. The
king of the South did survive, but only because a third world power, the Roman
empire began to intervene for the behalf of the southern King.

So when the world looks at Russia today, and says it can never rise again
against the wealth and power of the US,
she forgets the splendor of the Ptolemies in Egypt, and the sorry state of
affairs that the Antiochus family in Egypt experienced before. They forget how
the prophet Daniel foretold the destruction of the Ptolemies, when such looked
to be a complete impossibility.

God changes the times and seasons and sets over them the basest of men.
As we have seen, God has prophesied threw his prophets that Russia with Europe
will descend upon Israel and conquer the land, and at that time Christ and the
Saints will fight to reestablish the throne of David, which shall abide forever.
This will happen as surely as Antioch eventually defeated Ptolemy.